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great looking but unreliable .

Having dropped our glass Morphy Richards Illuma Jug Kettle , I was despatched to buy a replacement . I was in a hurry , so chose Argos as my only point of call . A quick glance through the in-store catalogue and I was left with a choice of two , so I weighed up their pro's and con's of each and decided to opt for the Kenwood SJM350 aka Kenwood Response Kettle , which retails at £34.99 ( Argos cat. no. 422-9942 )Back when I was a young lad , kettles were simplistic , you either had a whistler that was used on a gas hob or an electric variant - always steel finished , always corded and with an on/off switch .

Nowadays manufacturers have brought the humble kettle up to date and this kettle is in the forefront when it comes to features , just look at these :1) 1.7 ltr. capacity - brushed metal casing.2) 3 kw concealed element and rapid boil3) Jug type , with easy pour spout and fillable via spout or flipping the lid up ( not removable , but has safety locking function ).4) Corded base with approx. 3 feet of cable which can be stored in the base if not all required.5) Jug kettle has 360 degree movability .6) Boil dry safety cut out7) Removable and washable limescale filter.8) Twin water windows with graduated water measurments .9) Automatic switch off10 Illuminated power indicator and progressive colour changing illumination during boiling.11) Keep warm mode .12) Built in speaker / buzzer

Whilst the majority of the above are common to most kettles , I will elaborate on the few that are not , namely :1) Progressive colour changing illumination :- yes as the water boils the colour through the windows changes from blue when cold to red when boiling . In total there is a six colour sequence . During boilingthe on/off switch is illuminated red .

2) Keep warm mode :- whilst you push the on/off switch down to boil water , once boiled you can lift the switch upwards . At the point the kettle stays illuminated orange and the switch is illuminated blue . The ketle then keeps the remaining water at 80 degress c. .3) Built in speaker :- this sounds once when the kettle is placed on its base . It also beeps once when you press the on/off button and it beeps three times once the kettle has boiled fully. It is audible without being overly loud .

So there you have a decently priced kettle , feature full , reliable and a greating talking point to those who see it for the first time. Well worth investing in.<< UPDATE 07/11/2008 >>

Three replacements after the initial review , and I have finally given up on this kettle and got a new kettle .Why ? - initially it would boil 1.7 litres of water without a problem , then slowly but surely the volume it would boil reduced , and any amount of water over this new level would result in a continual warning beep . After about two months use you couldn't even boil a cup full of water .I did persevere and had three replacements , but each time , the same thing happened . Additionally , the water tasted awful for about two weeks after replacement , despite boil / empty *3 routine before using for the first time - it was so bad I even contacted my local water company to see if anything was wrong with the water supply.In the end I got a refund and opurchased a different manufacturers kettle.New ratings given below to reflect on problems encountered.